Even though these books are intended to train you in the Windows Server 2003 Operating System, I found that it is better to have either 'Windows Server 2003 Administrator's Companion' from Microsoft or 'Mastering Windows Server 2003' from Sybex as a reference guide and use this set mostly for review and exam preparation. After comparing the two reference books, I found the book from Sybex to be better as its coverage is more extensive than the book from Microsoft.

The four exams covered in this set are 'Managing and Maintaining a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Environment', 'Implementing, Managing, and Maintaining a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Network Infrastructure', 'Planning and Maintaining a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Network Infrastructure', and 'Planning, Implementing, and Maintaining a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Active Directory Infrastructure'. They are exams 70-290, 70-291, 70-293, and 70-294 respectively.

The books are made of very thin paper and are all paperback editions. This makes it easy to carry the individual books around. This is especially important considering that there are 4000 pages in the whole set and imagine what the hardcover editions with heavy paper would feel like! There are 2 CDs that come with the set. One has a 180 day trial version of Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition and the other has the 1500 practice exam questions and several good ebooks. All four books are in searchable and printable electronic formats that are supposed to be Pocket PC-ready. The extra ebooks are 'Microsoft Encyclopedia of Security', 'Microsoft Encyclopedia of Networking, Second Edition', and 'Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Sampler'. This last ebook contains excerpts from other Microsoft reference books. But the first two are worth quite a few dollars if you purchase them separately! There are several white papers and miscellaneous software on the second CD-ROM on top of what I already described above.

This training kit assumes that the readers have a minimum of 12 to 18 months of administering Windows technologies in a networked environment and an understanding of Active Directory. I am still looking for a good book on Active Directory Infrastructure.

Each book has its own unique and specific hardware requirements but to illustrate, they recommend that you have two computers to learn from the 70-290 book. One computer needs to have the server installed with a specific name (Server01) and the domain controller in a specific domain. This may make it difficult to use a work computer for training purposes unless your boss lets you have a dedicated computer or these requirements don't affect what's already on the server. The other computer should ideally have a Windows XP client for the optional hands-on exercises.

Each book follows a lesson style format with each chapter having several lessons. Every lesson has an estimated time at the beginning that may not be that accurate depending on your level of experience. Each lesson has several tasks with the concepts and the step by step instructions explained in a easy to understand manner.

Beginners may be able to do okay with the 70-290 book but intermediate to advanced users will definitely be more comfortable with the other three books. I am finding the 70-291 and 70-293 the hardest probably due to my background.

Overall, I think this set is definitely worth purchasing as I haven't run into any good competing books yet. But the price and the number of questions included make it extremely WORTHWHILE to purchase this set. Not to mention the additional free ebooks that you would have to pay for otherwise! If you are planning on taking the MCSA/MCSE exams, definitely get this set. If you are just trying to learn Windows Server 2003 from this set, I believe that there are better books out there. Good luck with your training and exams!